2010 LA AUTO SHOW - Electric Concepts Generate Plenty of
Buzz

Washington November 18, 2010; The AIADA newsletter reports that according to the
Detroit News the L.A. Auto Show which bills itself as the green stop
on the circuit, continues that theme this year with at least six electric
vehicles vying for attention. But environmentally friendly cars
are not overpowering the show as they have in the past.

Honda Motor Co. President Takanobu Ito unveiled the Fit EV
concept, a precursor to the production Fit EV to be introduced in the
United States and Japan in 2012. Honda plans to introduce a pure electric
car as well as a plug-in hybrid in 2012. The new plug-in hybrid platform is
the next generation of Honda's two-motor hybrid technology.

Kia Motors Corp. unveiled its first hybrid for the United
States with a version of the new 2011 Optima midsize sedan designed to get
40 mpg.

Auto Show Buzz and Over-hype aside, forecasts on how quickly the electric vehicle market will grow are all over the map.

EV Evangilest Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn expects EV's to account for 10 percent of global sales by 2020. He said government incentives will be necessary to subsidize electric cars for two years before they can compete and flourish on their own.

J.D. Power and Associates expects electric vehicles and hybrids combined will only account for about 7 percent of the market in that timeframe, up from 2.2 percent of the market or 954,500 units today.

To read more about the offerings at this year’s L.A. Auto
Show, click here.